Coffee
by sweetatoo
Summary: Two times, she could have fooled him, but not the third time. Definitely not the third time.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Code Geass.

**A/N: **Heheh I was bored sooo I came up with this idea. Hope you'll enjoy it! :) Thank you for reading, and reviews are, like always, very much appreciated!

* * *

**xxx**

"Hey everyone, your drink's here!"

At the sound of Tamaki's loud voice, the Black Knights members whipped their heads around, away from the monitors and their work, exclaimed happily for a break, stretched their limbs, and walked toward a small cart on which trays that held coffee cups were put.

"Wait, where's my cappuccino?"

"It's right there."

"Oh, it smells so nice…"

"This is mine, right?"

"Duh, can't you read?"

"Excuse me… passing through."

Kallen tapped Tamaki on his shoulder. He spun around.

"Where's the caramel macchiato?" she asked. Tamaki glanced back toward the trays, frowned slightly as he looked for it. "Ah! There it is," he said while handing her the cup.

"Thanks."

**xxx**

The doors to the headquarters slid open, and Kallen stepped in.

"Zero-" She suddenly stopped herself. He looked up from his work. "I mean, Lelouch," Kallen corrected herself as a slight blush painted her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I was just so used to calling you 'Zero'…"

"It's alright," he said curtly, then nodded at the object in her hand. "Is that for me?" he asked.

"Yes. Caramel macchiato."

"Thank you. You can put it on the table right there."

Kallen did as she was told.

"Is there anything else?" inquired Lelouch when he saw that the red-haired pilot didn't leave right away.

She looked around the headquarters, asking, "Where's C.C.?"

A small sigh escaped Lelouch's lips as he went back to his paperwork. "Who knows? That witch isn't a child that needs to be kept track of."

"I'm not a child, Lelouch," said C.C. well after Kallen had left the headquarters.

"I never said you were."

"There's no need to make such reference, either."

"Why didn't you come out, then?"

She strolled over toward where he's sitting. "Because I didn't want to spoil the moment between you and your most trusted Black Knights member." A note of sarcasm didn't escape Lelouch's ears.

He huffed. "Aren't I glad you didn't?"

"You don't hate her then? For what she did to you?" asked C.C.

Lelouch's hand that held the pen halted immediately on a piece of paper on which he was writing. He finally looked up at her. "For what she _didn't _do for me," he corrected curtly.

"I don't hate her," he continued. "I need her."

"Is that all there is to your relationship?"

"You're quite inquisitive lately, witch."

"Just like how you were when you learned about my and Mao's history together."

"That's different." He gave a grunt.

"In a sense, it isn't."

Lelouch heaved a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples. He didn't even know why he bothered arguing with the witch. Their arguments always yielded the same result every single time: headaches.

"What's this?" C.C.'s cool voice broke his thought process, and he reeled back to reality.

She was pointing toward the coffee cup that Kallen had brought in earlier.

"It's coffee," answered Lelouch. "Wait, what are you- C.C.!"

Without his permission, the green-haired witch picked it up and took a sip from it. "Hmm." She licked the corner of her lips. "Not so bad," she commented with a note of tiny satisfaction.

"It's mine." He stood up to walk toward her, to reclaim what was his. But he was too late. She had downed the whole thing. Lelouch's jaws dropped open.

"Thanks for the treat, dear," said C.C. while batting her long lashes mockingly at him. "Goodness, it's really hot but I'm not immortal for nothing. Heh, it's worth it." An arrogant smirk tugged at the corner of her lips before she quickly retreated to her room, moments before the warlock fully registered what had actually happened.

"C.C.!"

**xxx**

Lelouch pulled his dark trench coat closer to his body. Autumn's already here, so the weather was a bit chilly, and the wind was getting stronger as the night grew closer.

As he was walking briskly down the sidewalk, Lelouch mentally cursed the immortal witch for what she'd done, and made him do. He had a huge amount of workload back at the headquarters, the precise reason why he'd asked Kallen to get coffee for him instead of going there by himself. Now, thanks to the evil witch, all of that hard work of asking the pilot had been for nothing.

As he stood in line, waiting for his turn, Lelouch mentally went over the details of his next operation. So absorbed in his mental task that he hadn't noticed someone tapping him lightly on the shoulder. Only three taps later that he became startled and turned around.

A young woman in her early twenties was standing directly behind him. Her hair was long, jet-black and incredibly straight. Her eyes were big and had a beautiful aqua color. She was smiling at him.

"What's your favorite drink?" she asked. Lelouch noticed that her voice was a little bit shrill. Just a little bit. There's also a little accent…

"I'm sorry?"

"What's the best drink here that you would recommend?" When she saw his slightly baffled expression, she laughed lightly and explained. "I'm sorry for being… what's the word… hm… Ah, so imposing." She smiled. "But I'm a tourist from France, and I hear that this is a very well-known coffee shop, so I wanted to try it out. However…" She wrinkled her brows as she looked up at the menu board, tapping her chin with her index finger. "I don't know what to get."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Lelouch's lips. "I always get the caramel macchiato." When he saw her curious expression, he continued, "To answer your question, that's my favorite drink."

The smile was back on her pretty face. "Merci, Monsieur."

**xxx**

"Coffee, everyone!" Tamaki's booming voice echoed around the meeting room. The Black Knights members stood up and stretched.

"Took you forever," a black-haired girl mumbled as she took a coffee cup from Tamaki. He grimaced. "Next time, you go, okay?" he spat.

"Where's mine?"

"Look for it yourself!"

"That's mine— Hey, you, you there— Yeah, you have mine."

"Kallen, here's your orders."

Kallen took hers and looked surprised. "Two?"

"That's what it says under your name. See?"

The red-haired pilot peered at the paper. "Huh," she said before walking away.

"Your order, Lelouch," said Kallen after she had stepped inside the headquarters.

"Thank you. You can put it there," answered Lelouch, too absorbed in his work to bother looking at her. What she said next shook him, however.

"You ordered two, I believe."

"What?" He quickly tore his gaze from the map to look at her.

Some shuffling sounds, a click of the sliding doors, and a certain witch came into view.

"Ahh," she said with the slightest satisfaction in her voice. "My coffee's here." C.C. then took it from Kallen's hand.

"Since when do you drink coffee?" inquired Lelouch accusingly, as if her drinking coffee was a major crime.

"Since your ancestors were alive," replied the witch nonchalantly before she graciously sat down on the couch and sipped her beverage.

Kallen looked back at Lelouch. "Seems like you two share the same interest in flavor."

"Pardon?"

"She got caramel macchiato, too."

"_Pardon?"_

"Oh, stop being a drama queen, Lelouch… Hm, this is good."

"How did she know?" He addressed the green-haired witch. "How did _you_ know its name?"

C.C. regarded him with those signature lazy eyes of hers. "I got my sources."

"So it was you who wrote it in the order paper," said Kallen, crossing her arms. "_Without _my knowledge."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. I'd like to know how you figured out the name. Did you ask around?"

"As if," said C.C. as she was calmly drinking her delicious coffee. "Does it matter?" she repeated the question, and this time it was directed at the raven-haired teen.

When he looked baffled, she simply smirked and shrugged her slender shoulders. "Like I said, I'm quite resourceful."

**xxx**

Lelouch decided to switch his beverage.

"No more caramel macchiato," he murmured as he wrote down his order in a piece of paper.

"Coffee's here!"

And it was Kallen who brought in two cups of coffee like usual.

"They look different," remarked C.C. when she saw different markings on her and Lelouch's cups.

He smirked without looking at her with his eyes glued to the papers. "Of course. They're not the same."

"You didn't get caramel macchiato?"

"No."

"What changed your mind?"

"Don't be so ridiculously curious, witch. That's not like you."

"You're right."

And because he wasn't looking at her, he had no idea that she had secretly taken a sip from his drink.

_It certainly is different… It tastes like… _C.C. thought to herself. She then glanced at him, and saw him still absorbed in his work.

**xxx**

The next day when Kallen was on her way to the headquarters with two cups of coffee in her hands, she was approached by C.C. who was walking toward her.

"He's sleeping," said the witch quietly. "I'll take the coffee."

The red-haired pilot furrowed her brows slightly. "I'm almost there."

"He doesn't want his sleep disturbed."

"I won't disturb him. I'll just put these down and leave."

"What does it matter whether you see him or not?"

Kallen's heart skipped. "What do you mean?"

"He's not by his desk today. He's in his room, sleeping. So what does it matter whether you see him or not?"

"Well, because-"

C.C. suddenly leaned closer, causing Kallen to reflexively, slightly draw back. A sly smirk was tugging at the corner of the former's lips. "I can sense something here. Hm, is it attraction? Is it infatuation? Or better yet, is it love?"

"I'm not attracted to him!" yelped Kallen. Her hands shook a bit. "I-I'm not infatuated, either, and— and I don't love him like that! Here, take your stupid coffee." And with that, the exceptional pilot shoved the coffee into the witch's awaiting hands, blushed furiously and ran off in the direction that she'd come.

C.C. smirked satisfactorily. "Hm, humans and their emotions." Then, she glanced at the cups in her hands. "Let's see what you have here, Lelouch."

"Where's my coffee?" Lelouch asked no one in particular when he didn't see Kallen walk in with her usual delivery in due time. An hour passed by, and C.C. strolled in.

"Did you see Kallen?" inquired Lelouch from his desk.

C.C. shook her head. "No. Why? You miss her?"

"She's supposed to be here with the coffee."

"Didn't you hear? They're not getting coffee today."

Lelouch looked perplexed. "How come? They even asked me to give them my order."

"Tamaki's sick, and no one wanted to go."

"How did you know this?"

"Unlike you, I'm not burying myself in these walls."

Lelouch sighed as he sat back in his swivel chair and ruffled his raven hair. He even huffed.

C.C. withdrew into her own room.

**xxx**

Lelouch was standing in line, with his trench coat wrapped tightly around him, when he heard a woman's voice behind him. She sounded angry.

"Like I said, I don't know what that is, and it's not on the menu!"

Lelouch closed his eyes and tried to tune out her booming voice.

"Listen, you, I'm not even from here. You should be the one doing this, not me!" Then, she hung up and sighed exasperatedly. "Men…" she murmured.

Lelouch was glad she'd stopped shouting. He went back to staring at the menu board ahead.

Suddenly, a tap on his shoulder made him jump slightly in his spot.

"Oops, I'm sorry for startling you," said the woman. She had a dark brown bob cut. Her eyes shared the same color as that of her hair, and she looked to be in mid-thirties because Lelouch could see crow's feet near the corners of her eyes. "My husband's being a pain in the butt," she continued. "He'd like to know what the best thing in the house is, but you see, I'm not even from here." When she saw his slightly suspicious expression, she elaborated. "I travel a lot," said she. "So we're not really a normal couple," she laughed lightly. "I wouldn't like to bother you anymore, so I'm going to be straightforward and ask for your recommendation."

It felt like déjà-vu to him.

Lelouch answered after a long pause, long enough to make the woman knit her brows. "Caffe americano."

The woman smiled. "Thank you."

**xxx**

"A new drink?" murmured Kallen to herself as she looked down at Lelouch's order on the paper. "He's been so consistent with his order before. I wonder what made him change his mind…"

"How's your caffe americano?" asked Lelouch idly in his seat.

"Wonderful. How's yours?" C.C.'s tone was as monotonous as his.

"You wouldn't know."

"How so?"

"Because it's a different drink."

"Isn't it now?"

"Yes. The other two bored me."

"You get bored easily? Hm, it's a surprise you're still stuck with the same goal."

"Only when it comes to pleasure that I tend to get bored easily."

"What a disappointment."

He only smirked in return.

**xxx**

The next day, Kallen brought in the drinks and was surprised to find only the witch lazily lounging about.

"Where's Lelouch?" asked the red-haired pilot, to which C.C. shrugged carelessly.

"I'm not his mother who keeps track of him."

"You should know where he is," said Kallen sharply. "Isn't it your job to keep a watch on him? What if something happens?"

"Relax," said C.C. with a small yawn; she brought up a hand to cover her mouth. "He's not cheating on you, if that's what you're wondering." The witch smirked when she saw Kallen's cheeks flush furiously before continuing, "He's merely out on an errand."

"That's not what I was thinking!" growled Kallen as she slammed the cups down onto the coffee table rather forcefully. Then, with a loud, dignified huff, the exceptional pilot strode out of the headquarters.

C.C. smirked to herself as she picked up Lelouch's coffee cup, and sipped from it. "Hm," the witch licked a corner of her lips in satisfaction. "This boy sure knows what to order." Glancing toward the doors, she shrugged to herself. "Well, you're not here, so your lost, boy." With that, she freely drank from his cup.

When Lelouch returned with a small binder pressed between his arm and the side of his body, he found the timeless witch sitting straight on the sofa. She was busying herself with braiding her long, lime hair, and reading something from a document-looking booklet atop the coffee table.

Upon hearing his footsteps, she lifted her gaze and met his. "Welcome back," she remarked in that lazy tone of hers.

"I'm back," answered Lelouch equally lazily. "What are you reading?" He settled the binder on the table and sat down on the couch opposite her.

"Just going over a plan that you came up with. It's quite sound."

"I'm glad." Then, he glanced around. "Where's the coffee?"

"Tamaki got a stomachache, it appears."

"How strange, because I just saw him and he looked perfectly fine to me."

"Didn't he? I suppose he just very recently got better."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Lelouch gave an exasperated sigh, ruffled his shiny, raven locks, and stood up abruptly. "I'm going out," he announced.

"Where to?"

"Somewhere. Don't wait up for me."

"Since when have I?"

**xxx**

Like the last two times, he was waiting in line when a young lady's voice echoed from behind him.

"Ah, sweetheart, you're sure you don't need anything?" There was a sweet accent to her voice. Lelouch glanced back ever so slightly.

The girl had stylized curly blond hair that bounced as she turned her head this way and that. Her eyes were sparkling gray, and she was smiling, happily talking to her "sweetheart" on the phone.

"I see. Well, I'll still bring you back something. You don't know what to order? Alright, I'll get whatever is the best here." With that, she hung up.

Noticing Lelouch looking at her, she smiled pleasantly, and was about to open her mouth when he interrupted. "I'm sorry to have overheard your conversation, but you see, I'm a regular customer so I'm aware of the best choices here."

He didn't know if it were merely his imagination, but he thought he saw a look of confusion quickly cross her face. However, she regained her composure just as quickly, and smiled pleasantly at him. "Of course. That would be kind of you."

"Caramel macchiato," said he as he nodded toward the menu board.

And to his surprise, she shook her head. "I already tried that. Not really my favorite."

"How about caffe americano?"

"My boyfriend dislikes it."

"Is that so? Hm…" Lelouch looked thoughtfully at the menu ahead. "Ah! How about caramel brulee latte?"

"Ahh." A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Now _that _is something that neither of us have tried before."

"May I have the payment?"

"Excuse me?"

Lelouch smiled mysteriously and went on. "Well, I've helped you when you were in your need, so I believe I deserve some sort of payment in return."

The girl frowned. "What do you want?"

"I'd like to buy you the drink."

A pause.

"You want to buy me a drink?" echoed the girl. However, there was no confusion to be found on her face. She had masked it well.

"Yes, the drink."

"Aren't you a kind gentleman?" she said, smirking.

"Well, is that a 'yes'?"

"Certainly."

"Then, you can go over there to that table and wait for me."

After a few minutes, as promised, Lelouch walked toward the girl with two cups of steaming coffee in his hands. "Are you going back now?" he asked after handing her her cup.

"Yes."

"Then I shall accompany you. It's dangerous for a girl to walk by herself at night."

"You are very kind, sir." That smirk was back on her face again, and Lelouch only smiled nicely in return.

They walked together for a while before the girl broke the silence. "I believe this is where we part."

Lelouch looked at where she was gesturing with her free hand. "You're going in that alley by yourself?" he inquired with a bit of shock. The alley was dark and musty and unclean.

"I've walked this way so countless times before, so it's alright. Well, I suppose this is good-bye, and thank you for the coffee." She turned to go. Lelouch reached out to grab her upper arm.

"What-"

Suddenly, she was pushed against the concrete wall of the alley, completely concealed in the darkness cast by the tall, moldy-looking buildings on the other side. Her eyes went wide, and her lips parted slightly.

"You're a bad girl," remarked Lelouch in that low, dangerous voice.

She swallowed. "I don't know what you mean," said she.

"You have a boyfriend, don't you?"

"Well, yes."

"Yet you accepted a drink from me. Didn't that make you a bad girlfriend?"

Her lower lip fell further. Her eyes were still wide and puzzled.

"And you only got one drink. That must be for him, correct? Because you said on the phone that you would get something for him. Does he not like caramel macchiato? He might, but it's not your favorite so you didn't get it. How come? This drink should be for him, not you."

His grip on her arm hardened a bit as he went on. "Then you failed to mention your boyfriend again when I offered to walk you home. A normal girl would deny my request because by judging my actions, it certainly looks like I'm interested in her. However…" A smirk was tugging at the corner of his lips. "You're so old and out-of-date that you didn't quite know how to react to things like this."

Suddenly, the girl's eyes hardened and her body became still.

"Your hair is very beautiful, by the way." He let go of her arm to reach a hand up to touch her shiny strands, and a look of faux surprise crossed his face. "Why, it's-" He stopped short, grasped a handful of her strands, and yanked it loose. The whole thing fell off to reveal true, lustrous green-lime hair.

A smirk broke out on C.C.'s face as a triumphant smirk blossomed on Lelouch's.

"When did you figure it out?" asked C.C., still pressed against the wall with a cup of coffee in one of her hands, while the other rested upon the concrete wall.

"When I asked how your caffe americano was, and you simply said it was good. You didn't even look surprised that I knew the name, or inquire what it was. That's your slip; before you drank all of my coffee, you didn't even know what caramel macchiato was." He chuckled.

C.C. followed suit. "I thought I was being clever," said she with a tiny smirk. "Did you like my disguises, though?"

"They were good, I have to admit. However…"

"However?"

"You could've just asked."

With that, C.C.'s smirk only widened as she pushed him back a bit. Walking past him, out of the darkness and into the light of the streetlamp once again, she turned back to look at him with that mysterious twinkle in her eye, and said. "You know I hate asking."

Then, she proceeded forward in the direction that they had walked, toward the Black Knights' base.

Lelouch could only shake his head as he smiled to himself before quickly falling in steps with her.

_There are certain things that you should ask, C.C. _


End file.
